Sutherland move closer to another Grand Final after downing Marconi

The victory ensures the Sharks a position in next Sunday?s major semi-final against Sydney United at the Sydney United Sports Centre (Kick-Off at 4om), while the Stallions hang on to fight another day when they host Manly United at Marconi Stadium in the minor semi final on Saturday night (Kick-Off at 6pm).
Sundays match against the Sharks was Marconi?s first dose of semi final football since 2007, and they made a nervous start to their premiership campaign.
The Sutherland Sharks dominated possession and territory in the opening stages, with the Stallions making some uncharacteristic mistakes in their own half to turn over the ball.
Despite looking shaky in defence, it was the home side that were presented with the first real opportunity of the match.
Sharks number one Nathan Denham fumbled an Ali Abbas Al Hilfi free kick at the far post, falling into the direction of Vuko Tomasevic who narrowly missed the target from a tight angle.
At the mid-way point of the first half, Ivory Coast international Vamara Diarra introduced himself to Denham with a powerful drive, but his long range effort sailed narrowly wide of the top right hand corner.
At the other end a free kick again almost produced a goal, this time it was Brad Boardman who latched on to a Jim Bakis free kick, but James Chronopoulos was able to control the situation.
Al-Hilfi looked dangerous down the right flank, creating havoc for the Sutherland defence.
Marconi went on the counter attack again courtesy of Al-Hilfi who this time set up Tim McGowan, but Denham was up to the task, denying the youngster with a brilliant save low to his right.
McGowan was given the chance to make up for his earlier effort but this time failed to trouble Denham, sending his shot into the stands.
Whatever Robbie Stanton told his troops at half time had an immediate effect on the visitors, as the Sutherland Sharks took a 1-0 lead just two minutes into the second half.
It was a Jim Bakis free kick that saw Panny Nikas leap above the pack to get a header on target, but despite Chronopoulos?s best effort to get a hand to the ball, Nikas followed through to tap home the first goal of the 2009 finals series.
The Stallions continued to press forward but superior numbers in defence from the Sharks prevented any chance of a Marconi equaliser.
Lee Sterrey made two crucial substitutions with 20 minutes remaining, bringing Ousmane Toure and Erick Anabalon to replace Tim McGowan and Vuko Tomasevic.
The changes seemed to spark both the Stallions supporters and players as they continued to attack.
A series of passes saw Erick Anabalon supply an unmarked Al-Hilfi with the ball on the edge of the box, but his shot ricocheted off the post and into Denham who somehow ended up with the ball in his grasp.
Sutherland had the chance to put the match beyond doubt in the first minute of injury time when Panny Nikas made a run down the left flank to set up Brad Boardman, but the Sharks couldn?t exploit the three on two situation as they watched Boardman?s shot sail over the crossbar.
Despite failing to double their lead, the Sharks held on to salvage the victory, much to the delight of coach Robbie Stanton.
?I was very pleased with the second half because we were a bit loose in the first half, especially in the middle of the park but we tightened up and we got the reward,? he said.
?Marconi are a fantastic team and we respect them.
?They play a very similar game to us so we knew it would be a tight game.?
Despite finishing in third position after the regular season, Stanton knows that finals football is a whole new ball game.
?Finals football isn?t the best football to play and it usually comes down to the best mentality and character of the players,? he said.
?It comes down character and the desire to win.?
Sydney United haven?t played a game since August 9, so Stanton knows next Sunday will be the best time to upset the frontrunners.
?We aren?t worried about them, we are actually looking forward to it,? Stanton said.
?They are the best team in the league but they are beatable.?
Lee Sterrey would have liked to be preparing to play Sydney United, but instead has focused his attention to this Saturday?s must win match against Manly United.
?We really believed that we would be playing Sydney United next week but now Sutherland are,? Sterrey said.
?I believe that whoever won today would win next week because Sydney United are there for the taking.
?The only thing that will bring them down to level will be the pitch at Edensor Park.?
A loss always hurts, but Sterrey knows his side could have easily walked away with the win.
?At the end of the day we had the two best chances to be in front but we let them take the upper hand because we couldn?t deal with a free kick.?
Sterrey was reluctant to make excuses, but found it hard to hide his frustration towards the state of the field.
?We have been a ball playing team all year and now we?re playing on a mine field,? he said.
?I?m not making excuses but in terms of execution, the ground cost us twice.?
In the Grade 20 match, Sydney Olympic won 3-2 after penalty shoot-out against the Sutherland Sharks. The scores were locked up at 0-0 after 120 minutes.
Match Stats
Marconi Stadium 0
Sutherland Sharks 1 (Panny Nikas 47?)
Venue: Marconi Stadium
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Crowd: Approx 1100.
Referee: Gerard Parsons
Assistant Referees: Allyson Flynn, Lance Greenshields
Fourth Official: Kurt Ams
Marconi Stallions: 22.James Chronopoulos, 2.Wade Oostendorp (5.Adel Eljamal 82?), 4.Umut Tokdogan, 6.Vuko Tomasevic (7.Ousmane Toure 69?), 8.Alex Canak, 10.Ali Abbas Al-Hilfi, 13.Ben Vidaic, 15.Tim McGowan (9.Erick Anabalon 69?), 17. Vamara Diarra, 23. Chris Nunes, 26. Nahuel Arrarte
Substitutes Not Used: 11.Matthew Gordon, 20. Cem Akili
Yellow Cards: Chris Nunes 90?+4?
Red Cards: Nil
Sutherland Sharks: 1.Nathan Denham; 2.George Souris, 6.Chris Price, 4.Michael Robinson, 7.Jim Bakis (10.Matthew Hall 82,) 9.Brad Boardman, 11.Ben Spruce, 12.Neil Jablonski, 15.Michael Katz, 14.Nick Stavroulakis, 23.Panagiotis Nikas
Substitutes Not Used: 8.Nathan Ralph, 17.Jordon Nikolovski, 22.Manni Fragogiannis, 18. Andrew Smith
Yellow Cards: Nick Stavroulakis 27?, Michael Robinson 90?+2?
Red Cards: Nil
3 ? Panny Nikas (SS)
2 ? Ali Abbas Al Hilfi (MS)
1 ? Nathan Denham (SS)
-By Michael Chammas